British comedy Mother’s Pride has just released a first trailer featuring lead stars Martin Clunes and Mark Addy.
Directed by Nick Moorcroft, who co-wrote the script with Meg Leonard, the West Country-set film sees Clunes portraying the owner of a family pub risking repossession.
As his musician son Cal, played by Jonno Davies, returns home to mend their fraught relationship, he also takes it upon himself to save the pub. He involves the family in launching their own microbrewery and entering the Great British Beer Awards.
“The worst pub in Britain competing for the best beer,” as one of the characters points out in the clip.
Produced by James Spring with Fred Films (Patrick, Blithe Spirit, Finding Your Feet), the film is releasing in UK cinemas on 6 March. It was originally slated to release in September 2025 before it was delayed a few months.
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Filmed between Wiltshire and Somerset in 2024, the wholesome movie hails from the team behind Fisherman’s Friends, promising to deliver a “warm, witty and distinctly British story of resilience, reconciliation and real ale”.
Also starring are Game of Thrones’ Mark Addy, The Inbetweeners’ James Buckley, and Poldark’s Gabriella Wilde. The ensemble is rounded out by Luke Treadaway, Miles Jupp, Josie Lawrence, Stephen Leask, Emily Lloyd-Saini and Karl Collins.
Mother’s Pride is inspired by a real-life story, with which Moorcroft intended to celebrate small, family-run pubs after the near-loss of his local.
“Pubs are really important for communities, bringing people together, which is especially pertinent with COVID as they tackle loneliness and social isolation,” he told The Guardian in 2022. “But on our location scouting, we were visiting pubs that have been empty for two years – and will never become pubs again. Each is filled with history and memories. It’s really sad.”
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Opening up about her inspiration for the script, Leonard recalled her local pub growing up in mid-Wales being “very important as a watering hole”.
“There wasn’t anywhere else for people to meet, unless it was chapel,” she said.
“The mental health of the community is serviced by people being able to get together. This was a lifeline. When it was faced with closure, the community clubbed together and bought the pub.”
Mother’s Pride releases in cinemas on 6 March.
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Stefania is a freelance writer specialising in TV and movies. After graduating from City University, London, she covered LGBTQ+ news and pursued a career in entertainment journalism, with her work appearing in outlets including Little White Lies, The Skinny, Radio Times and Digital Spy.Â
Her beats are horror films and period dramas, especially if fronted by queer women. She can argue why Scream is the best slasher in four languages (and a half).Â